Invisible
by seashell118
Summary: Claire is a normal girl, seeking acceptance from her not-so-friends, when she is changed. Newborn vampire Claire stumbles upon the Cullens, not knowing that she is about to get herself involved in a war with the Volturi. Nominated for the Twilight Awards!
1. Chapter 1 Fire

My life, or rather my death, would have been drastically different if I hadn't gone out that night.

It was very late, and the crescent moon barely gave off enough light for me to see my feet hitting the bare pavement.

"Just walk to the old house and back," Janie had dared me. "Unless, of course, you're scared." Her lips had curled into a sneer.

"Of course I'm not scared," I retorted, already pulling on my sneakers. I was up for anything, anything that would give me acceptance from these girls who didn't like me.

Here, in this deathly darkness, the only sound being my footsteps echoing on the street, here it was harder not to be afraid.

It was all just very stupid. We had been playing truth or dare at Kayla's sixteenth birthday party, and the dares were getting more and more out of hand. I was supposed to walk down to the abandoned house at the end of Kayla's street. In contrast with the rest of the pristine neighborhood, the house seemed even more desolate. Its ramshackle roof had caved in, vines and plants had crawled up the walls, and only one of the windows stood intact. The last person who lived there had died of a heart attack nearly a hundred years ago. Rumor was the new owner of the house was planning on knocking it down and selling the property.

My breathing hitched slightly as I reached the old gate, the twisting metal reaching up to pointed spikes. It looked menacing and foreboding, but I knew that Janie and the rest of them were watching me from the windows of the safe house I had just left. I inhaled deeply and pushed through. The gate squeaked ominously.

The cobblestone path had been rendered invisible by the moss. That's how I felt most of the time: invisible. The only reason I was going through with this dare was so that Janie and Kayla and everyone else would finally start thinking of me more than just Kayla's next door neighbor. I knew I had gotten a pity invite to the party; Kayla and I just weren't that close. But I was determined to prove them how courageous I was.

I was at the door now, the old wood cut through deeply with marks of age. All I had to do was turn around now, but an idea struck me, a foolishly idiotic idea, but I went through with it all the same. If I went inside, I would go beyond the dare. I would prove to them all that I was brave, that I was worthy of being their friend.

So I did.

The door opened easily, which seemed strange, seeing as no one had been in the house in so long. I didn't bother looking for a light switch. There was probably no electricity hooked up, anyway.

A souvenir, that's what I needed. Something to prove that I went where no one else would venture. I gazed around in the darkness, waiting for my eyes to adjust.

Only then did I realize I was not alone.

The man—no, he was young, a boy—was standing so still that I didn't see him at first. Too still. Unnaturally still.

Even though he was turned away from me, I could tell he was the most beautiful being I had ever laid eyes on.

His hair, which was darker than the night outside, made a beautiful contrast with his pale skin. His shirt was rolled up to his elbows, and I could see that his body was hard muscled despite the fact he could not be much older than I was.

I didn't move. I didn't know if the beautiful boy owned the place, or even lived here, hard as it may seem to me. Would he send me to jail for trespassing? My only hope was that he hadn't noticed me yet, and I could get back outside undetected.

A gust of wind blew through the still open front door, the artic chill raising goose bumps on my arms and ruffling my long, brown hair around my face.  
It was then that the boy moved. He whipped around, so fast that my eyes missed the movement.

His eyes were a strange color: a deep crimson, darker near the pupils. But that was the only thing I took in, for it was then that a feral snarl ripped through his throat, his strange eyes rolling wildly. He crouched down, staring at me like I was some animal, and he was the hunter. Predator and prey.

Even with my adrenaline rush from the fear that was pounding through every inch of my body, I didn't see when he pounced at me. I only felt his rock-solid body pinning me to the ground, and a sharp stab of pain in my neck.

He was cold; the air was cold; everything was cold. I was going to die, and everything was getting colder and colder and my vision swam and I couldn't see. I was dying.

From a corner of my mind, I heard someone calling my name. An angel from heaven, I thought. They're calling me.

In all the movies I had seen, I had learned one thing: walk away from the light. But why should I? The light was warm, the light was comforting. It was so much better than this coldness that engulfed me.

I vaguely felt the cold boy pinning me down to the ground lift up, another frightful snarl ripping from his throat; but it was muted. I was swimming, gliding towards the light. I heard screaming and more snarls behind me.

_Run,_ I tried to tell myself. _Run into the light, away from all of this._

But it was fading, that beautiful white light, it was fading and I couldn't reach it.

It was then that I realized I was warm. Too warm. Much, much too warm.

It was uncomfortable at first, like wearing a turtleneck while standing next to the radiator. But my body didn't break out into a sweat, and I didn't understand why. The heat kept rising; now it felt like I had jumped into the radiator, and the turtleneck was on fire.

I was burning.

And I couldn't think of anything else, except that I was burning and I was in pain, and it just kept getting worse. I didn't know if I was screaming or not; the pain was too great for me to even think about concentrating on anything else. It hijacked my mind, my senses. Everything was covered in a red, fiery haze that seemed to burn even the hollow of my bones.

The pain didn't stop. I went on burning.

Eventually, I regained the use of pieces of my mind. The pain went on, as vicious as ever, but I was able to think through it, and that made it even scarier. Because I was sure I was dead, and that this was hell. I would burn forever in this fiery red land, for sins that I didn't remember. The pain would never end.

And yet, eventually it did. It faded, very slowly, first from the tips of my fingers and toes, gradually concentrating deep into my heart. This was the worst; the agony was stronger here, but after several long minutes, it ended.

The world around me was silent. I didn't understand, but I realized the difference: I had no heartbeat and I wasn't breathing. So I was dead, then. At least the pain was over.

I opened my eyes.


	2. Chapter 2 Explanations

**So, basically, the caffeine and adrenaline high from the Twilight premere has chugged out several chapters of this new story.**

**Disclaimer: * I don't own this storyline. It's all Stephenie Meyer's world, I'm just playing around with it. Claire and Desmond are my own creations, though. **

**Enjoy-- and review! I need to know how to make it better!

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**

I was terrified when I realized that I was still locked on Earth. Was this where souls went when they died? They stayed on Earth forever, destined to roam endlessly, stuck in limbo?

The fear should have made my heart pump faster than a hummingbird's wings; but there was only silence. I couldn't get used to this.

Sitting up, I realized I had no idea where I was.

Everything was sharper, more defined. With my new, dead eyes, I could see everything in a new light; there was even another color I could add to my repertoire. Yet, with all these enhanced senses, I could not fathom where I was.

I was outside, in the woods. It was dark out, like the night I died—was it the same night? No, that was impossible. The agony, the fire had lasted longer than that.

So, when then? Another question I had no answer for.

I froze, statue-like, when I heard footsteps. Someone was running, but faster than I ever heard. I could tell, even from the distance, that they weren't breathing. They were like me.

I was so frightened that even though my mind seemed to have so much more rooms for calculations and decision making, I still had no idea what to do. Therefore, when the strange runner broke through the trees, I was still standing, disoriented, in the middle of the woods.

"Ah, you're awake." It was the boy, the beautiful boy. He was even more intensely beautiful with my new sight. I couldn't speak. I was confused more than I had ever been. I reached out to touch him, to make sure he was real, but the arm that stuck out was not mine. It was pale, polished, the same texture as the boy's face.

We were the same, my new mind concluded. The realization made me want to vomit, though I was not sure my new body would be able to.

"I'm sorry, so very sorry," he continued as if nothing was happening, oblivious to my mental turmoil. "I had to carry you away from the house. You were making quite a racket." His eyes, which were now a bright, piercing red, were saddened, yet hopeful at the same time. I had no idea what to make of his expression.

"What am I?" I asked, the words surprising me. It wasn't what I meant to ask—I meant to ask where I was. But that wasn't what shocked me. My voice was different, musical, like sweet music composed by some talented and skilled performer. I stopped, amazed.

He sat down, patting the ground opposite him, an invitation for me to sit down also.

"I'm so very sorry," he apologized again. I didn't understand.

"Why are you sorry?" The beautiful voice asked again. I couldn't get over it.

"Let me explain everything, from the beginning." I waited patiently.

"First, I would like to apologize for attacking you. I wasn't expecting a human in such close proximity when I was so thirsty."

His words made no sense. "Human?" I repeated uneasily. "I'm no longer human?"

He shook his head, though not in an answer to my question. He seemed to be angry at himself. "No, I'm getting out of order again. Let me start over."

My patience was waning, but I sat still.

"My name is Desmond Arbour. I was born in New York City in 1942. I started my new life in 1959." He took in a shaky breath, waiting for my reaction.

I laughed, the sound echoing through the forest like bells through a city.

"You really expect me to believe that?" I asked when I regained my composure.

"Yes," he answered solemnly.

"But you shouldn't be seventeen. You should be _seventy_." I stared at him in disbelief. Did he really think me so foolish?

"It's true. But now, I am immortal."

I snorted; even that tasteless reaction sounded beautiful coming from my new body. "Well, Mr. Immortal, can I go back home?" I looked around. "Where am I, anyway?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, really. I just took you as far away from your house as I could manage." He looked around. "It's not much, but it will have to do, for now."

"You kidnapped me?" I gasped.

"You don't understand, do you? You can't go back home. You can never go back." His eyes were full of sadness.

"Why not?" I demanded.

"Because, for one thing, you'll be a danger to each and every human you come in contact with. And, for another, it's against the rules."

"Rules? What rules?"

"The rules the Volturi set up. Our kind cannot be discovered."

"Our kind?" I snapped. "What is that, some kind of cult?"

"Vampires," he answered sagely.

I could only gape at him in astonishment. I decided to go back to one of his earlier statements and bypass this all together.

"What did you mean before, when you said it would be dangerous for me to see... humans?" It was completely ludicrous that I had to say 'humans' in a sentence, but I wanted to keep him talking, get more answers.

"Because of the thirst," he explained. "You'll be craving their blood every second around them, and you'll be overcome, like I was with you."

But I wasn't listening anymore, because the very mention of the word _blood_ had my throat burning, like someone had stuck a torch in my mouth. It was like I was in the fire all over again.

"What is this?" I gasped, clutching frantically at my throat, hoping to quench the flames. Had he poisoned me?

"That's the thirst," he said, sighing, though taking my shoulders in a firm grip. "You need to hunt, immediately. Unfortunately, there are no humans in the area."

The shock broke through my pain. "Humans?"

He shrugged. "It's how we survive."

And I remembered—the crouch, the pounce, the pain on my neck. This boy wanted to hunt me. But I was safe, for some reason. Because I was a vampire.

The thirst made it final somehow. There was just no way to fake that. But I couldn't think about it anymore, for it was just fueling the wretched flames in my throat.

It was then that the deer passed by.

They were in a pack, several hundred feet away, but the thirst was so great that my senses were heightened. They smelled appallingly delicious to me in my frenzied state.

And I was off, a part of me reveling in the speed, the majority of me consumed by the thirst.

The deer were no match for me. My new vampire strength was unstoppable.

How comfortable I was with my fate now. A vampire.

It still made no sense, and I still was confused. But Desmond would help me. I would get used to this new life.

I finished off the deer rather quickly. My thirst was somewhat quenched, but by no means gone. It was still there, prickling in the back of my throat, but it was no longer consuming me.

"Better?" Desmond asked, smiling.

I nodded. "Much."

Several hundred questions bubbled in my mind.

"How strong am I?" I asked him.

For an answer, he stood up. He gripped a large tree trunk with both his hands. I didn't understand what he was doing, but suddenly there was an incredible ripping noise.

And then Desmond lifted the tree, roots and all, from the earth.

He set it back down then, covering it with soil as I struggled to reassemble my shocked expression. So many new things.

"I didn't scare you, Claire, did I?"

"How do you know my name?" I demanded. I rifled through our conversation, perfectly preserved in my mind. My name had never come up, I was certain.

Suddenly he was ashamed, staring at his feet. He didn't answer for quite a while.

"Your friends, they were shouting for you," he said shakily, "They were shouting your name, looking for you." He looked up, and shame was etched into his perfect face, right down into his brilliantly red eyes.

And then I understood the difference. The color of his eyes—my mind put it together.

"You killed them," I breathed.

His eyes, the eyes of a murderer, burned with an intense regret.

"It's how we exist, Claire. I'm not saying I don't regret it, because I do. So, very much. They were just too close, and I was so thirsty." He closed his eyes. "You have no idea how badly I feel."

"Why were you even there?" I accused him. "Why were you in that stupid house in the first place?"

"It's my house," he said calmly. "Or, it was."

"What?" Now I was confused.

"The house used to belong to my father. My mother died when I was very young. When I died, in a sense, it was too much of a strain on my father's heart. He passed away later that week…." He drifted off into silence.

How much pain had this poor boy been through? More than I could even guess at. His family died because of what he was, a life he didn't consciously choose. He lost his friends, his family, his home.

"This may not be the right time to ask," Desmond whispered. "But I want you to come with me."

"What?"

"I'm going back to Washington soon. It's easier for me to live in a place where I can go outside during the day—and the Olympic Peninsula is one of the most sunless places in the United States."

"What happens if you go outside?" I asked, my curiosity taking over.

"You'll find out soon enough," he said, smiling. "But, please, will you come with me?"

This boy was a murderer, but he was kind. He ended my life, but he had also saved it, in a way. He was the closest thing I had to a friend. Not just now, but ever. I had never felt this connection before. It was the thing I had been craving my entire life—well, my existence now. I wasn't sure I was entirely alive.

So, what would I choose?


	3. Chapter 3 Chance Encounter

**Again: I don't own this story. It's all Twilight through Breaking Dawn; Stephenie Meyer is a goddess for thinking of this. **

**Claire and Desmond are mine, all other characters, places- basically everything else- are hers.

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**

My skin was sparkling.

It was impossible, incredible, but it was also true. I looked, and felt, as radiant as a diamond. It was morning now.

Desmond had showed me my reflection in a lake today. I had been mesmerized for nearly three hours. It was an alien face, but if I looked closely I could find traces of my former self. My hair was the same, dark brown, but my eyes were now a brilliant red, more intense than my new friend's.

Because I had chosen to stay with him. Of course I had. Even if I hadn't wanted to, what would I do without him? He was a murderer, yes, but he didn't do it out of choice. After experiencing the thirst, I understood.

Desmond usually took a plane from New York to Washington, but, seeing as I was still a newborn, we opted to run.

I discovered I didn't need sleep during the night as it slowly progressed to morning. Desmond had explained much to me; I felt more informed.

Running was incredible. We had started out as the first rays of dawn broke through the horizon.

"This is going to take a while," Desmond warned me. Even though we ran faster than any car could drive, we still had to cover several thousand miles. It was easy; we didn't need to rest or sleep. We hunted on animals. I was too abhorred by the possibility of killing a human. Desmond wasn't happy about it, and I could see why. Without the thirst clouding every aspect of my mind, animals were revolting.

Still, I stuck to my new diet, desperate to retain some shreds of my humanity.

There was just one thing that we both found interesting. One morning, something very strange happened.

Running was second nature to me; I didn't need to consciously focus on it. Instead, I contemplated my new life. I wondered what my parents would think, though I was sure they would make it on without me. I was a foster child; I only stayed in a certain place for a few years, at most. I had no siblings to worry about, and had never made any friends that would mourn my death.

It was always hard to make new friends. I knew why this was—I had been shunted around so many times in my life that I just found it easier to be alone. I didn't like the loneliness, and I craved human contact, but it was easier to move on when there were no ties to break.

I was thinking about this while I ran, and I began to shrink into myself. Nothing physically happened to my body, but I put up my mental defenses that I was so used to. I felt distant, lonely despite the boy running next to me.

Then, all of a sudden, he stopped.

"Claire?" He called out, swiveling his head around. I stopped too, confused.

"What?" I asked him. "I'm right here."

He didn't appear to hear me. "Claire, where did you go?" He called out, a faint note of hysteria in his voice.

Worry and anxiety for my friend's mental health overtook my mind, and then his eyes met mine. He jumped.

"Where did you go? How did you get here so fast? What's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" I demanded. "I was here the entire time. You just stopped, like you couldn't see me or something."

"I couldn't see you, Claire. You were just gone."

I was about to protest, but he cut me off, his eyes brightening. "What were you thinking of, just now?"

I shrugged. "My life, I guess. The people I left behind." I twisted a corner of my mouth wryly. "There aren't many." Again, the defenses went up. Desmond broke eye contact, his eyes swiveling around.

"I know you're still here," he said slowly, "Because I just saw you. But I can't see you, or hear you, or _smell_ you."

Surprise overtook me, and he met my gaze again. "Yes, that's it."

"What's it?" I asked him.

"Stay calm," he told me.

And then, abruptly, I was in a haze.

Everything was cool, swirling around me. The only things connecting me to earth were Desmond's hypnotic, red eyes.

"Why don't you climb the tree?" He asked me, but his voice was different. It was alluring and compelling. Although several seconds ago I had no desire to climb the tree, now I wanted to—no, I _had_ to. It was a necessity.

And then Desmond blinked, breaking our eye contact. I found myself in a tree branch, high above him. I jumped lightly to the ground.

"What," I asked, my voice shaky, "What was that?"

"I'm not sure," he answered, and his eyes were honest. "It's strange. When I concentrate, pull myself into a certain mental state, I can … hypnotize people, I guess."

I stared in awe.

"So you think I can do something like that?" I asked.

"Yes—but very different. I think you can turn invisible."

"But I can still see myself. Before, when you couldn't see me or anything, I was still here, fully in form."

His brow furrowed as he considered this. "Maybe it's just in the mind, what you do," he said eventually. "You don't actually disappear, it's just an illusion."

And so, throughout the rest of our adventure, we tested this theory.

Holding my breath, I walked right up to a human man when we reached a small town. I spoke to him until I ran out of air, but he took no notice of me—like I was invisible.

We finally made it to Washington, weeks later. I had nearly mastered my skill. I had a craving to play hide-and-seek with someone. I would dominate the game.

It was a relief, as Desmond had said, to step outside during the day. We had to make sure, during our entire trip, that no humans caught sight of us while our skin shattered the light into a thousand, sparkling pieces.

Here, the clouds were low and oppressive—perfect. I couldn't imagine a better place.

We were staying in Seattle now, but we would have to find a more permanent place to live. It was easier to abstain from humans than I thought it would be. Once I committed myself fully to my diet, the scent of animals became more delicious. Although the human scent never failed to make my throat catch fire, it was easier to deal with.

However, one human was suspicious of us, and that made me uneasy. Desmond explained to me about the Volturi—how they would kill us if our secret was revealed, even if it was unintentional.

While shopping in a department store in Seattle—Desmond had convinced a teller at the bank to give us some extra cash with his talent, and we needed new clothes—a boy shyly approached me. I was used to this, of course; humans were physically attracted to us. It made it all the harder to abstain from then. Usually I would just turn invisible, but it would be too obvious if clothing mysteriously started floating to the dressing room. I could only make myself invisible, nothing else.

"Hello," he said to me as he approached. I looked up. He was older than me, maybe in his twenties. He was cute in a way, with his blond hair precisely gelled in a way that was supposed to look naturally ruffed up. Other than trying to hard with his looks, he seemed generally nice.

"Hello," I responded, and then internally kicked myself. Conversing with humans was on the top of the Things Not To Do list.

"My name is Mike Newton," He said, extending his hand. I smiled, looking at the clothing in my hands apologetically, as if that were the reason I couldn't shake it. In reality, I could not let him touch my cold skin.

"Ah, right," he said, catching on. "I'm sorry, this may be very rude, but are you related to the Cullens?"

"The Cullens?" I repeated. "No, I'm afraid not."

"Oh," he said, blushing. I cut off my breath, afraid that the blood rushing to his face would make abstaining harder. "You just look a lot like them."

He turned to leave, embarrassed, but I called after him, "Who are the Cullens?" His words had intrigued me. There were very few people who I looked like, and they weren't people at all. I had the characteristics every vampire had. If these 'Cullens' looked like me, they must be of my kind.

"They live in my town, in Forks. They're all really pale, like you, but their eyes are a different color." He blushed again, as if he revealed too much, but I was desperate for more. Desmond's eyes had changed color when he gave up his human diet, from crimson to tawny, while mine had remained a bright red. He hypothesized it was because of my newborn state. This was being proved true, as my eyes gradually changed as I grew older and drank more animal blood.

"Really? Interesting. Maybe I'll pay them a visit, see if we're related after all." Already, the plan was forming in my mind.

"Maybe, when you're there, we can—."

"I have to go," I said abruptly, pushing the clothing in my arms into his. "I'm very sorry. Goodbye."

He watched me leave, deeply confused. Poor boy.

I caught up to Desmond outside. He didn't like to shop. Even vampire boys were ridiculous sometimes.

"Listen," I said to him. "I want to go somewhere."

"Where?"

"A town called Forks. I think there are some people there we should meet."


	4. Chapter 4 Seen

**Again, Stephenie Meyer owns all, except Claire and Desmond, and she totally rocks my world.

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Our plan was simple.

We would explore the town of Forks, searching for these 'Cullens'. If they were the same, we would approach them. Not to be violent—we were interested, especially me. I had never met another of our kind besides Desmond, although he claimed to have run into a group of nomads once, two males and a female. He hadn't seen James, Victoria, or Laurent since.

Hand in hand, we entered the town, slowing down to human speed. It was raining, but it did not bother our granite-like skin. I no longer felt cold, or any other temperature. The only thing I felt was Desmond's hand in mine, and that was comforting. It was also confusing; his touch made my head spin.

We put on our human façade, though it was not difficult. We just had to look at ease. There was no hiding from the sunlight in a day such as this.

Within half an hour of strolling through the town, we ran into a young couple. The human female called to us at a distance, though the names were not our own.

"Bella? Edward?"

We turned around, disoriented, and the embarrassment was clear on her face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized, walking toward us with her mate. "I thought you were someone I knew."

"The Cullens?" I inquired, taking a leap.

She nodded, relieved that I appeared to know who she was talking about. I didn't.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"Angela, and this is Ben," she introduced us. She didn't ask for my hand, and I was grateful. I really liked this human.

"Well, Angela, would you mind telling us where the Cullens live? We heard they were in the area, but we don't know the address. They're distant cousins of ours, you see, and we wanted to drop in and say hello." The lie came swiftly through my lips from practicing it so often. We needed to be thorough, Desmond and I, so we came up with an alibi.

Angela nodded shyly, and gave us directions. They lived just out of town. I thanked her warmly as she left.

"I'm glad I didn't have to use my talent on her," Desmond said. "I liked her. I didn't want to force her to do anything." I smiled, knowing exactly how he felt. Angela seemed to radiate kindness. It made me wonder what power she would have as a vampire.

"So, shall we?" Desmond asked, taking my hand again. My very being seemed to melt at his touch, and he wasn't even using his hypnotic powers.

"Wait," I said, pushing him away regretfully. "I think I should go alone."

"No," he instantly protested.

"Listen. I can see what they're like and they won't see me."

"You want to spy on them?" He asked, incredulous, though I could see he thought it was a good idea. He just didn't want me to go alone.

"Yes," I said.

"No."

"Why not?" I asked, exasperated.

"What if it doesn't work on them—what if they see you?"

"Oh please, Desmond," I said, rolling my eyes. "Why on earth would they be able to see me? We've tested the invisibility on so many people—it will work."

My argument was irrefutable.

"Fine," he eventually conceded. "But I'll be close by if you need me."

I smiled. He was being foolishly overprotective, but it was nice that someone cared about me, especially someone I cared about, too.

We set off on Angela's directions immediately. It was infuriating to go at human speed, but it would have to do. We couldn't be discovered.

Before we reached the turnoff that Angela had directed us to, I made Desmond stop moving.

"You promised," I reminded him before going on by myself.

I had no idea what to expect from this coven, and I was frightened. I immediately made myself invisible before proceeding. Desmond, noticing this, whispered _good luck_, directed some six feet away from my face. It was kind of funny, really.

I didn't bother to use human speed anymore; it was time to run. The long driveway disappeared impossibly quickly, to human eyes, anyway. To me, it was normal. I was at the front door in no time.

Here I was faced with a difficulty. I could not simply open the door. It would appear as if the door opened by itself to anyone who was watching it, and that would give me away. I was trying to think of a solution to this conundrum when someone opened the door for me.

In a split second, I took in everything about her appearance: she was tiny, with spiky black hair. Her face had small features. She had a distinct, pixie-like presence.

"I don't understand," she murmured to the male behind her as I slipped through the door. "I saw her coming. I know I did. She should be here."

I froze. Was she talking about me? Did the pixie girl see me before I became invisible?

"You need to relax, Alice," said the blond male. A sense of ease flooded through me, and I started wondering why I was invisible—I was completely comforted here—

As quick as the feeling came, it left me. I was puzzled, but I realized that the pixie girl, Alice, had stepped on the blonde male's foot.

"Stop that," she snapped. "I need to focus."

So the emotion was the male's doing… I would need to look out for that. If I was overcome with too much emotion, I would lose my focus and slip into visibility.

"Maybe she decided not to come," he tried to reason with Alice.

She shook her head. "I would have had another vision, Jasper, you know that."

Jasper, Alice—what strange names this coven had. And what was this talk of visions? Did Alice see the future?

Before I could contemplate this, another male came towards the open door; this one had reddish-brown hair, a bronze color. I leaped out of the way.

"Alice," he called to the girl on the front step. "Alice, you need to come inside. So the female didn't come. It's not a big deal."

"I'm not wrong about these things, Edward!" Alice snapped again. I could hear the tension in her voice.

"The future is subjective—" The boy named Edward started, but Alice cut him off.

"She didn't make another decision. It was her decision to come here—straight here!—and nothing else! I would have seen something else!"

It seemed that Alice was nearing hysterics. Jasper tried to soothe her with his particular gift, but, thankfully for me, she stomped on his foot again.

"Don't, Jasper. Just don't."

_Please, Jasper, _I said in my mind,_ I really can't afford to lose focus._

I was standing near the open door, next to the boy named Edward, when yet two more _other_ females—would it never end?— entered through the back door. I couldn't see them, but I could hear their light footsteps.

They were laughing, and Edward's head pricked up, a smile alighting on his face. One of them must be his mate, then, I realized. By the way the female with the chocolate hair was looking at him, I assumed it was her.

I was loving this—the observations. It was so interesting the way this coven worked. I couldn't understand it; there were just so many of them! I couldn't wait to see more.

But I never got my chance, because at that moment, the female with the brown hair locked eyes with me.

And in that moment, I knew: _she could see me._

How? I had no idea. But by the force of her stare, the shock and the recognition in her eyes, I was sure she could. It was impossible. And yet she could see me.

In half a second, I tested my visibility; nothing. I was still undetectable to everyone but her.

"Who are you?" She asked me, point blank, throwing my cover.

If the shock was enough before, it was worse now; my invisibility flickered, but I controlled myself instantly.

Edward looked around anxiously.

"Who are you talking to, love?" He asked her.

"Can't you see her?" The female asked, frightened and confused.

I could have made my escape then. I was just too mystified—it was impossible for this female to see me!

"Bella?" Alice said, coming inside with Jasper. "What are you talking about?

"You can see me," I said, speaking aloud. It wasn't a question; it was a shocked statement. No one else heard me—I was still undetectable to them.

"Of course I can!" She hissed. "Can no one else see her?" She looked at the others' worried faces.

Suddenly, inspiration hit Bella's face. I didn't know what she was doing. She closed her eyes, looking completely serene.

"Oh!" Edward gasped, jumping away from me.

Jasper took a protective stance in front of his mate.

Alice clapped with delight. "I knew I wasn't wrong! I knew she'd come!"

They could all see me.

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	5. Chapter 5 Captured

What was going on? How could they all see me all of a sudden?

My only clue was Bella. She had concentrated before—did she have a talent for taking other talents away?

Suddenly, I was slammed against the wall, Edward's hands creating manacles around my wrists. His iron grip was irrefutable; I couldn't move. In any case, I was too afraid to.

"Who are you?" He snarled. "What are you doing here? How did you get here undetected?" He hurled the questions at me so fast it would have been static to human ears.

"Easy, Edward. She's just curious, is all." Alice's chiming voice was soothing, but Edward wasn't convinced. Bella came to stand by him, glaring at me; the other blonde female rushed out the back door.

"Emmett!" I heard her yell before leaving my hearing range.

I was confused, I was frightened, I was ashamed—why should my power fail now? This coven was dangerous. They did something to me, and now they were going to hurt me: how could I possibly get away now?

"Let me go!" I demanded.

"Not a chance," Jasper hissed. And my insides turned with fear, my head was clouded with it; I remembered his talent, and I tried to keep it from taking me over.

"Please!" I gasped. "Give me a chance to explain!" The fear made my voice reach hysterical proportions. What made it worse was it wasn't even _my_ fear!

"How did you get in here?" Edward roared, Jasper snarling behind him.

"Please," I said weakly, trying to fight my way through the fog of emotion, "I can't think!"

"Jasper," Alice said, prodding him. I wouldn't have noticed it, but at that precise moment, the fear left me; Jasper pulled back his particular power. I was grateful, but the lack of fear made room for anger to fill the void.

"Let me go!" I snarled again, throwing Edward off me. He flew across the floor, landing, with a deafening crash, on a grand piano.

I felt Jasper trying to clutch at me with wild hands, but I was too fast for him. As I fled across the enormous lawn, I heard Bella's enraged roar at the treatment of her mate, and Alice's delicate sniff of disappointment.

But I was running, running too fast for them to catch me. I knew they would follow me, but I didn't care: I needed to get out of there.

I was going so fast I nearly passed Desmond, but I reached out my arm in a flash, grabbing a fistful of his shirt, and towed him at lightning speed behind me. He sputtered as he inhaled a mouthful of dirt as I dragged him across the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded as he righted himself, easily matching my pace.

"They're all insane!" I shrieked, pushing myself ever faster. "They saw me!"

Desmond gasped, not breaking his stride. "What?"

I growled furiously. "They have a female, Bella, who can somehow take my powers away, I don't know how!" I tried to explain as I ran. We were running deep in the green forest that seemed to cover this town, desperate to escape, but also trying not to be seen by human eyes.

"Is that even possible?" Desmond asked, unable to fathom what I was telling him. I didn't answer, just kept running.

Then there were footsteps.

Impossible to hear by human ears, but magnified a thousand fold by ours, we heard a soft, furious tapping as a vampire chased us at full speed. I let out a cry of distress, not worried about giving up our position: someone had found us.

I ran, even though I knew the act was futile. The pale figure overtook us easily, crashing us both to the ground. Even though the pounce had taken less than half a second, I easily identified our captor as Edward.

He was growling and snarling, his eyes wild, too far gone to even articulate a sentence. And then his mate was there, holding us down too, accompanied by Jasper. Alice was with them, but she didn't bother to try and restrain our already immobile bodies.

"I thought you were better than that," she pouted.

And then we were joined by even _more_ of the coven: the blonde female I had seen running out of the house, accompanied by another blonde male, this one physically older, and a female with caramel colored hair. In the distance, I heard the roar of an engine.

"Is that Emmett?" Alice asked, the only one who seemed to have kept their composure, as she identified the sound I was listening to.

The unfamiliar blonde male nodded. "He's taking the Jeep. He'll be here in a second."

"Please let us go," I pleaded, the last weak attempt I was able to muster. "We weren't trying to hurt you, I swear!"

Bella hissed, probably remembering the blow I had inflicted on her mate.

"I'm sorry, I am, but I was surprised, I didn't—." My incessant babbling was cut off by Desmond.

"We're very, very sorry," he said in a soothing tone, one that I recognized: he was trying to hypnotize them. "I believe you should let us go now, and we won't bother you again."

Already, Jasper and Edward were straightening up, but Bella hissed furiously.

"What are you doing?" She shrieked at her companions. Her eyes flicked between Desmond and the two males; comprehension dawned on her face. She closed her eyes, and then Edward and Jasper regained their firm hold on us.

"How interesting, the boy has the power to hypnotize, nothing I've ever seen before," the blonde male muttered to himself, the one with the name I didn't know. He glanced up at Bella. "Thank you for shielding us, or we would have all succumbed."

Bella flashed a brilliant smile, and a few things became apparent.

Bella couldn't take away our powers: she was some kind of shield. Somehow, she found a way to make others immune to our powers, also.

This made me afraid. We had nothing against them.

A car's furious roar broke through my thoughts, and I swiveled my head to see a large, red Jeep jump through the trees. This coven seemed to be multiplying by the second: another male was driving this truck, Emmett, I presumed. He was also something to fear. His brawn was nothing of the likes I had ever seen. He could easily overpower both Desmond and I without any help.

"That's right," Edward said, glaring at me. I was confused—had I spoken aloud?—but then I realized this must be a power of his: the power to read minds.

It was like a clan of super-beings. It didn't help our situation in the slightest.

Edward and Jasper flung the two of us into the backseat of the Jeep. Edward got into the front seat, and turned around to us as Emmett revved the engine.

"I'm warning you, I will know if you're going to escape, and so will Alice. Everyone else is circling the car. If you try to run, you will fail."

Taking the Jeep was slower than running, but still quite fast. I hadn't driven a car since my transformation, though I was sure that the extra senses that immortality granted me would make it quite easy to drive a Jeep at ninety-five miles per hour through the forest without hitting a tree. At least, it was easy enough for Emmett.

We were back at the house, then, and Jasper ripped open one of the doors as Edward did the same to the one on the other side.

"Hey, easy with my car!" Emmett yelled.

The two ignored him, slinging Desmond and me over their backs and running inside. I didn't try to resist. It was two against eight, and there was no telling whether another vampire would pop out of the cracks. It was strange that this coven had so many with them. Go figure the first vampires I ever met, besides Desmond, would turn out to be a small army.

Once we were inside, Edward and Jasper threw us onto the couch.

"Now Edward, behave, please," said the unfamiliar blonde male as he entered the door, ahead of everyone else behind him. I assumed he was the leader.

He came toward us, hands raised.

"I'm sorry if we hurt you," he started, though the growls that echoed throughout the room indicated the others thought otherwise. "But we cannot let you go until you tell us a few things."


	6. Chapter 6 Explanations Again

**Disclaimer (which I often forget): I am only Stephenie Meyer in my wildest dreams. I don't own Twilight or the characters, though I do enjoy bending them to my will :)**

**Review after reading, please! Anything you say helps me make this better.

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"Who are you?" I asked him in wonderment. Despite my absolute fear, I was intrigued by the number of vampires in his coven.

"My name is Carlisle Cullen; this is my mate, Esme." He gestured to the woman with caramel hair. "I daresay you've already met Edward and Jasper," he said with a slight frown. "You must have also seen Alice and Bella. And this is Emmett, and Rosalie." He gestured towards each of them as he rolled off their names.

"There are so many of you," I marveled.

Edward frowned, as did Jasper.

"You're genuinely surprised by this," Jasper said slowly. I guessed that he could feel emotions as well as manipulate them. "Why is that?"

"I told you, Jazz," Alice said, rolling her eyes, "They just came to observe us. They didn't mean any harm."

"It's true," I told them fervently. "I ran into a human who thought I was related to you. I knew that meant you were one of us, and I was curious. Desmond and I just wanted to see what you were like."

Edward growled, though this time in annoyance.

"Newton," he hissed.

"Yes," I said, realizing he'd read the memory in my head. "Mike Newton, that was his name."

Bella laughed, which surprised me. "Oh, Mike," she sighed. "He never did know what was good for him."

"How did you see Claire?" Desmond asked, avoiding being sucked into the tentative calm.

"You are Claire?" Carlisle asked me gently.

I nodded. "And this is Desmond," I said, glancing at the subject of my statement.

"Well, it is nice to meet you both." Despite the treatment of his coven, he sounded sincere. "To answer your question, Desmond, Bella is a mental shield. I assume that what Claire does is only in the mind."

Desmond nodded. "And that's how she resisted my power. I see." He didn't seem comforted by the knowledge.

"How can you do that?" I blurted out, gazing at Bella.

"It's my talent," she answered, confused.

"No, I understand that. I mean, how can you shield other people, too?" I asked, refining my question.

"It took lots of practice," Bella said solemnly, glancing apologetically at her mate, though I didn't know why. "Edward was hurt a lot in the process."

Edward put his arm around her waist. "It was worth it."

I had to look away from the scene. I felt like I was intruding.

Emmett, however, snorted loudly. "Oh, get a room, you two," he muttered. Rosalie, standing next to him, giggled.

"Emmett," Esme scolded disapprovingly.

"So, can we go now?" I asked.

"I don't see why not," Carlisle agreed. "Again, I'm very sorry for the confusion. We thought you were spying on us for another reason." His face grew hard, and, though I had been given permission to leave, I was intrigued.

"What reason?" I asked.

"It's nothing to concern you," Bella said sharply, but it didn't sound like an insult. It sounded like she was protecting something.

What, in a coven with so many, could they possibly be protecting?

"They aren't after Nessie," Edward murmured soothingly. He turned to Carlisle. "And they aren't from the Volturi. They really just are here to observe."

"I told you," Alice muttered sing-songily under her breath.

"The Volturi?" I repeated, suddenly afraid, remembering the stories Desmond told me that first night. "Why did you think we were from the Volturi?"

"Wait a moment," Bella interrupted, staring at Desmond and me intently. Her hard gaze settled on me. "You haven't hunted in the area, have you?"

I was surprised by her question. "Well, of course. We've been here for a few weeks."

She gripped Edward's arm. "Where? Where did you kill?"

I looked at Desmond uncertainly, and he seemed to understand something when our eyes met. He glanced at the other pairs of eyes, and it seemed to confirm his suspicion.

"We don't hunt humans," he explained, and I suddenly understood: despite my diet of animals, my red eyes hadn't gone away. This coven all had golden eyes, like Desmond.

"Then why are her eyes red?" Bella hissed.

I shrugged. "I don't really know. Desmond thinks it's because I'm so new to being a vampire."

"New?" Carlisle inquired.

"Yes," I said. "I was almost seventeen when I was changed, but I've only been a vampire for a little over three months."

They stared at me in incredulous silence. No one moved for several seconds. Then—

"You have _got _to be kidding me," Jasper spat out, stalking out of the room, up the stairs.

Alice sighed. "I'll go talk to him," she promised, following Jasper's retreating figure.

"What did I say?" I asked, bewildered.

"Jasper finds it harder than the rest of us to abstain from humans. The fact that you can, being so new, makes him feel weak," Carlisle explained.

"Oh." An uncomfortable silence followed. In order to fill it, I said hurriedly to Edward, "You mentioned the Volturi before. What did you mean?"

Emmett hissed, and every face in the room scowled.

"The Volturi are intimidated by our numbers. That and a few other things," Edward said bitterly.

"What other things?"

He glanced uneasily at me, but answered anyway. "Our family's association with werewolves, for one." He glanced at Bella. "And our daughter."

My mouth dropped open, and I saw Desmond do the same in my peripheral vision.

"Werewolves?" He asked incredulously.

"_Daughter?_"

I'm sure Desmond wasn't as bothered by the 'daughter' thing like I was, but of course he couldn't know. Ever since I had been changed, certain things that used to happen to me once a month failed to occur. I thought it was normal, but now I was not so sure.

"Bella was a human when we conceived," Edward explained, reading my thoughts.

"It's a very rare circumstance, to be sure," Carlisle agreed.

"Why would the Volturi care, though?"

"They think we are stronger than them."

"Well, they've got a point there," Emmett said good-naturedly, flexing his muscles. I unconsciously inched closer to Desmond.

"So they think you can overpower them," Desmond said, finishing Carlisle's sentence.

"They've tried to take us out, before. We could have used their help when a newborn army rampaged Seattle, but they chose not to make an appearance until after we fought them." Carlisle's face was bitter. "Then they tried to use Nessie as an excuse to exterminate us, but they realized she wasn't a threat and were forced to retreat."

"Nessie is our daughter," Edward explained, reading the confusion in my thoughts.

"How old is she?" I asked conventionally.

Bella frowned. "Eight." I couldn't understand her tone of voice.

"So, you thought we were from the Volturi because they've tried to attack before?" Desmond asked.

"Alice has seen that they've been debating whether to use force to take us out or not. She has the gift of seeing the future, but she can only receive visions once a decision is made. We thought she might have missed a decision to send someone to spy on us, and that you were the Volturi's mercenaries."

"I told you I didn't miss anything!" Alice called as she made an appearance at the top of the stairs, holding Jasper's hand. "Jasper's promised to behave himself," she announced as they ran down the stairs.

"Well, I believe we are done here," Carlisle said to Desmond and I. "I apologize, again, for the miscommunication."

Desmond and I stood up. "It's alright," Desmond said. "It all turned out okay."

"You're leaving already?" Alice asked, disappointed.

"We can't keep them here, Alice," Carlisle teased.

"Promise to visit," Alice commanded us. "We never really got a chance to meet, and-." She broke off, her eyes glazing over.

"Alice? What do you see?" Jasper placed his hands on her shoulders. Bella did the same to Edward, and I realized he must be seeing the vision through Alice's thoughts. It was completely silent for several tense seconds. It felt like an eternity.

"No!" they both shrieked in unison, coming out of their trance.

"What's going on?" Emmett demanded, clearly angry for being out of the loop.

"Emmett, quiet, let Alice explain," Esme said softly.

Alice only had eyes for Carlisle.

"It's the Volturi. They've made a decision."

"And?" Carlisle asked sharply, though he must have already known the answer by the look on her face.

"They're coming. They intend to kill us all."


	7. Chapter 7 Preparations

The Cullens were in their element.

"Edward, get Tanya on the phone, we need them down here. Esme, send a message to Siobhan in Ireland. Jasper, see if you can track down Peter and Charlotte. Bella, call Jacob, tell him Nessie needs to come home _now_ and we need to talk to him." Carlisle's smooth articulation did little to solve the anxiety everyone was feeling, though his voice was firm. The four vampires he instructed went off to do their duties.

"Carlisle, we don't have that much time! Even if you can contact them all, they would have to arrive within the week."

"I know, Alice, but we have to do something," Carlisle said in a frustrated voice.

"I'll help you. I'll fight," I said.

"We'll fight," Desmond corrected, slipping a hand around my waist. Even through my fear, his touch affected me. It seemed to be melting my bones. It wasn't a bad feeling.

"We can't ask you to do that," Carlisle said firmly.

"You didn't ask us. We're volunteering."

"The Denali coven is in," Edward interrupted, coming into the room.

"Did you explain the situation?" Carlisle asked sharply.

"Yes. I told them that there was no choice but to fight; they wouldn't be able to just witness for us now. They agreed that they would stand by us."

Carlisle sighed. "I hate bringing them into this. But we have a better chance than standing alone."

Edward put a hand on his shoulder. "They know what they are doing, Carlisle. There's no need to feel bad about this."

"Jacob's coming and he's bringing Sam and Nessie," Bella said as she rushed back into the room.

"Sam doesn't need to—," Carlisle started, but Bella cut him off.

"Jacob was with Sam when I called him. He knows the situation. He hasn't committed to fighting with us until he knows more."

Carlisle nodded. "Very good."

I felt lost, in the midst of all the rush. But seeing Bella again put an idea in my head.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked her. She looked puzzled, but agreed to go outside with me.

"I need you to teach me how to make other people invisible," I told her.

She sighed. "I don't know if I can—it took me a long time to learn how to shield other people. It's not something I can really explain, it's something you need to learn on your own."

I shook my head. "That's not good enough. If I'm going to be fighting with all of you, I'm going to do the best I can do to protect everyone."

"Once Carlisle puts together a plan, I promise you that I will try and help you. I can't promise you that it will work," she warned me.

I nodded. "That's good enough for me. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said smiling. "And I am sorry about before. It's been a bit tense around here, waiting for the Volturi to come again."

"You're forgiven," I promised her, and she was. It was hard to deny such an honest face.

I picked up my head, two unfamiliar smells meeting my nose. One was puzzling, and the other was—

"What _is_ that?" I gasped. It was horrid.

Bella just laughed. "The wolves have arrived. You get used to the smell after a while."

A howl broke out, a few hundred yards away, and then broke off into a man's laughter.

"I'm going to ignore you said that, Bella," a voice called from a distance, though we could hear it perfectly. "It's not like you smell like roses, either."

"Oh, stop it you two," another voice broke out, this time female. It was a beautiful voice, more beautiful than any other I've heard, but the strange smell originated from her.

Before I could ask any questions, though, the girl broke through the clearing, running at full speed. She was next to us in a matter of seconds.

"Hi, Mom," she said, giving Bella a hug, and I remembered that Bella and Edward had a daughter when Bella was still human. Half-human, half-vampire: what an odd combination. No wonder I had never smelled anything like her before.

"Nessie, this is Claire," said Bella, introducing us.

"I thought you said your daughter was eight?" I asked, unable to fathom how the young woman standing in front of me could be only that.

"I grow fast," Nessie explained, flashing a grin.

"Where's Jacob?" Bella asked, but a young man broke through the clearing at that exact moment, followed by another one. They were both Native American, with copper skin and dark hair that was cropped short.

"Calm down, we needed to put our clothes back on," Jacob said, laughing.

"Jacob and Sam are werewolves," Bella explained when she saw my shocked expression. "When they transform, their clothes don't transform with them, so they have to carry them when they're in their wolf form." I nodded, noting a small piece of wire around Jacob's ankle, and one on Sam's. It made sense now. It was how they carried their clothes.

Despite Jacob and Bella's easygoing demeanor, Sam was focused, professional. I remembered the task on hand, and shivered.

"Hello, Bella. Where is everyone?" he asked.

"They're inside."

Sam nodded and headed indoors. Jacob turned to Bella.

"How bad is it?"

"I don't know, pretty bad I think. Alice said something about 'within the week'; I guess that means they're coming soon."

Nessie widened her eyes, obviously terrified. I remembered that she had been the reason for the Volturi's last visit. I didn't even want to think what was going through her mind right now. Mine was a mess as it was.

The backdoor opened and Alice stormed out, Jasper shadowing her.

"Who let the dogs in?" she grumbled, taking off at full speed.

"She doesn't like to be blind," Jasper explained before following after her.

"Blind?" I asked Bella.

But Jacob was the one who answered, chortling. "She can't see the future when there are wolves involved. I guess I better go inside."

He went inside, Nessie following him. Bella watched them go sourly.

"What's wrong?" I asked her. She looked up surprised.

"Nothing," she admitted sheepishly. "It's just that Nessie grows so fast… only a few years ago, she was still a toddler. I feel like I hardly get to spend any time with her. She belongs to Jacob," she ended, sour again.

"Won't she stop growing?" I asked frantically, making the calculations again in my head.

"She has," Bella said soothingly. "She's her mature age, now."

"What did you mean, she belongs to Jacob?" I asked.

Bella shook her head. "It's a werewolf thing. If they see their soul mate, they Imprint on her. Jacob once described it as gravity moving." She shook her head again. "I have nothing against the two of them being together. I know he's the best man out there for her. It's just kind of weird."

I nodded, agreeing. "Very weird."

We walked back inside, where a meeting was taking place. Carlisle was explaining the danger to Sam and Jacob.

"There are only two wolves?" I asked Bella quietly, knowing that everyone could still hear me but not wanting to sound rude.

"No, not at all. There are seventeen—no, eighteen now. Jacob and Sam are the Alphas of the packs, the leaders."

_Seventeen_. Seventeen werewolves and eight vampires: how many mythical creatures could fit in such a small town?

Across the room, Edward let out a small chuckle.

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**Alright, I know not much happened here, but I promise you it starts heating up a lot more after this. **

**The main point to this chapter was that Bella agreed to help teach Claire how to spread her field of invisibility. I guess you can all see that it's going to be important in the following chapters.**

**Comments? Suggestions? Tell me what you think!**

**Also: check out my other story, Another Way, about how Jasper met Alice!  
**


	8. Chapter 8 Idea

**I hope you're all enjoying this so far! **

**Disclaimer: The only characters I can really bend to my will are Claire and Desmond. The others are just along for the ride, all products of the great Stephenie Meyer.

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**

_Seventeen. Seventeen werewolves and eight vampires: how many mythical creatures could fit in such a small town?_

_Across the room, Edward let out a small chuckle. _

Bella sighed as she watched Edward react to my errant thought.

"He's reading your thoughts, isn't he?" she asked, almost sounding wistful.

"Yes. Does that bother you?"  
"No, not at all. Sometimes, though, I wish he could read mine."

I spun around to face her. "He can't read your thoughts?"

She tapped her forehead. "Mental shield, remember?"

I frowned. "That's right." Her remark made me remember what I needed to do. I needed to learn how to make more than just me invisible. And Carlisle needed to make a plan before Bella could teach me.

I listened to the three leaders for a moment, but it was easy to get the gist: we were going to wait for their attack, nothing more than sitting ducks. Not much of a plan, if you ask me.

"Why don't we just go there?" I asked.

Every face in the room turned to me. I felt uncomfortable under their appraising gaze.

"What?" Carlisle asked eventually, his voice wary.

"Well, no one in the Volturi can see the future, right? So if we go there, like an offensive attack, they won't be expecting it at all."

"You want us to… go to Italy and fight?" Edward asked, confused.

I nodded. "It would probably make more sense. We would have the upper hand."

Carlisle shook his head. "No, they would be more comfortable in their home."

"When are they coming?" I asked.

"In ten days," Edward answered absently, still trying to decode my thoughts.

"Well, if we go there before then, if we catch them unprepared for a fight—wouldn't we have the upper hand?"

Again, everyone was dumbfounded. Even Desmond was staring at me in awe.

"All right!" Jacob said, grinning. Nessie glared at him.

"Let's kick some Volturi butt!" Emmett agreed, pumping his fist in the air. "Oh, don't look at me like that, Rose," he said to his mate, who was staring daggers at him. "You know it's a great plan."

"We'll have to speak to Jasper about it, but it's definitely something to think about," Carlisle admitted.

"Jasper?" I asked.

"Yes, Jasper has military expertise. He can tell us the pros and cons of an offensive maneuver."

"I say we do it," Emmett said, cracking his knuckles. "It's about time. We can show them that we're not going down without a fight."

"And think about it, Carlisle," Bella said excitedly, "No humans in the area would get hurt!"

"But how would we get there?" Carlisle asked, still unsure.

"By plane, of course," Bella said. "Alice and I did it."

Edward grew tense at this remark, and pulled his mate into his arms. "I will never forgive myself for putting you in that danger."

As before, I had to look away from the scene. The intensity of their stares was even too much for me. But my eyes found Desmond's, and I turned to the floor, confused at the feeling coursing through me.

Everyone looked up as footsteps approached.

"Alice and Jasper," Edward murmured.

"Let's make this quick, people, I don't like not being able to see," Alice announced as she waltzed through the back door. Her movements were very graceful, even for a vampire.

"Alice saw that you were going to ask me something," Jasper explained as he, too, entered the room.

Carlisle told him my idea, of going to Italy for an offensive attack. Jasper listened attentively, and nodded at the end.

"It's probably the best option. I can't believe we didn't think of it before. They won't be expecting us."

"I still feel uneasy about this," Carlisle admitted.

Edward scoffed across the room. "Carlisle, the Volturi want to kill us. What other choice do we have? We should at least go down fighting."

Carlisle hesitated, but then nodded. "That's very true, Edward. I'll go make some preparations. Everyone, hunt as much as you can in the area. We'll need to be strong for this." Then he departed, hand in hand with Esme.

Desmond came over to me and took my hand. That same bone-melting feeling I had before came back.

"Come on, let's hunt," he said, and I didn't argue. For one thing, we hadn't hunted in a week or two, and, for another, I just didn't want him to let go of my hand.

Even in the exhilaration of running didn't ease the tension the Volturi situation had brought on us.

"Do they even have an excuse?" I asked Desmond after my third deer. The bitter taste of their blood was starting to grow on me.

"What?"

"The Volturi. Carlisle said the last few times they came, the Volturi had an excuse as their front."

"Carlisle said that they're trying to prove that their coven is too dangerous because there are so many of them that they are bound to be discovered. That's part of the reason the Denali coven is joining in on the fighting: they have a large coven, also, and they are probably going to be the next target."

I frowned. "When did Carlisle say that?"

"When you were outside, speaking with Bella. You were probably too distracted to listen." His face hardened. "We need to speak about that, actually."

I replayed the conversation in my head, not finding anything bad about it. "What do you mean?"

He came closer to me, one hand tracing the inside of my wrist with his fingers. My breathing hitched.

"Claire," he breathed my name urgently, "You need to focus on protecting yourself. Your first priority is to make sure you come out of this _alive_."

His golden eyes were intent on my face. My witty remark about being 'alive' died in my throat.

"But if I can protect the others, if I can protect _you_--," I started, but he cut me off.

"Protect everyone else, if you wish, but you need to be alert! You can't let that make you more susceptible to an attack."

"What do you mean?" I gasped. He was walking his fingers up my arm now, clouding my thinking.

"I mean that if protecting everyone else takes too much concentration, if you can't focus on protecting yourself, then don't do it. I need you, Claire, and I can't lose you."

My mind swam. My bones had the consistency of putty. What a cheater.

I traced the light shadows under his eyes. "Maybe we should go back inside," I whispered, deliberately not promising him anything. His face hardened.

"Please, Claire!" he whispered, pulling me closer against him.

My mouth opened, but all I could manage was a strange popping noise. It was as if I had lost the ability to use my voice.

But then we heard footsteps, and I anxiously pulled out of his impromptu embrace. Alice and Jasper soon appeared.

"Hi, Claire! Hi, Desmond!" Alice chirped.

Desmond smiled as I greeted her, tracing small circles with his pinky on the back of my hand. My head swam again. Jasper's eyes widened, flashing from me to Desmond. I would have blushed, had that been possible, as I realized that he was feeling my confused emotions about Desmond.

"Erm, we were just going back to the house," I said, anxious to get away from Jasper.

"Oh," Alice said, pouting. "Well, we'll see you later, then!"

"Sure," I promised.

Desmond and I ran off, but not before I heard Jasper mutter, "Finally."

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**What do you think? Review, please! **

**And, if you'd like, check out my other stories! I've got a few, including Another Way, which is a Jasper POV story about him meeting Alice, and then The Hardest Thing, my newest story, which is basically a mashup of lyrics from 98 Degrees and quotes from Edward in New Moon.**

**Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Go stuff your face with turkey and mashed potatoes!  
**


	9. Chapter 9 Battle Plan

**If you haven't gotten the memo by now: Claire and Desmond are my minions, but everyone and everything else belongs to Stephenie Meyer

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Today was my first lesson with Bella.

We sat out in the backyard, Edward watching us closely, and Desmond my reluctant test subject. It wasn't that he didn't want me to practice on him, he just didn't want me to practice at all. He wanted me ready, all pistons firing, to protect myself. I wasn't having that, not if it was in my power to protect everyone I loved.

Because I had grown to love this coven, even in the incredibly short time I had been here. Desmond and I had spent the night talking with Esme and Carlisle, learning about their lives. It was incredible.

But now it was back to business.

"Okay," Bella said to me, "I want you to close your eyes."

I obeyed. That part was easy enough.

"Now try not to concentrate on anything. Just let your mind relax."

That was hard; it took a bit of time. But, after fifteen minutes, when most of my mind had gone dormant, I was sure. "Okay," I murmured.

"Do you feel your power? Can you reach out and touch it with your mind?"

It sounded utterly absurd, but she was the only one who could help me. Tentatively, and feeling like a complete idiot, I searched through my mind. I skipped by the part that monitored my thirst and the one that tried to sort out my feelings for Desmond, coming across one that I both recognized and didn't at the same time. I had used this part of my mind before, but I had never come across it in this manner.

"I think I found it," I said slowly.

"Good. Now make yourself invisible."

I did.

"Are you invisible?"

"Yes," I said.

"Now reach out, and I'll put Desmond's hand in yours. You aren't going to feel anything, Desmond, because to you, she doesn't exist," she warned him. "But it's very important to stay still."

And then his smooth hand was being pressed into mine.

"This is weird," he muttered. "I can't move my hand, because she's holding it, but I can't feel anything, either."

"Now, Claire, I want you to concentrate on that piece of your mind that's making you invisible. Focus your entire mind on that one part." She waited a moment as I did what she asked. "Now, I want you to try and stretch your field of invisibility."

An hour or so ago, this wouldn't have made any sense. Now, I understood. My power cloaked my body; I could feel it on me. It felt like the lightest of silk sheets, softly draping over my figure.

I mentally tugged at the sheet, trying to make it expand, but it was resilient. I furrowed my brow, pushing my entire mind into the process.

Edward gasped, and I could feel that I was succeeding. Comforted, I pulled lightly on my field, more and more, until it was draping Desmond's body as well as mine. I was panting with the effort.

And then it snapped back to me, and I sighed.

"I couldn't keep it," I apologized.

Bella wouldn't hear of it. "That was very, very good! Especially for a first try! Let's start again."

We sat outside all afternoon, the gloomy clouds covering us. Bella gave me tips along the way.

"Try and convince your mind that even if Desmond is protected, you will be too," she told me over and over.

Near the end of the day, I was dizzy with the results of my training, but it was ultimately a success: I was able to spread my field over both Desmond and Edward, and I could feel that more could easily fit underneath.

"This is going to work!" I said excitedly. Bella agreed, though Desmond was wary.

"Look how tired you are, Claire. Being invisible doesn't make you less solid. If someone attacked you, you would get hurt."

"It will get better with practice," I assured him, and Bella nodded.

"Really, Desmond, she's doing great," she said.

He wasn't convinced. I would have to deal with him later. There was another problem pressing me.

"Bella, I can't cover you. You're shield won't let me."

She nodded. "I know. That's fine. I can take care of myself. But if I can shield everyone while you make them invisible, everyone else will be virtually undetectable, both physically and mentally."

"Mentally?" I inquired.

"Yes, they have a male, Demetri, who can capture the tenor of someone's mind and use that to track them. He's very skilled. He'll have to be the first one we take out."

The rest of the day we spent with the rest of the family, arguing over strategies.

In the end, we decided on this.

Bella wanted Jane. She didn't say anything directly, but I got the feeling that they had some sort of past issue. Edward was going after Demetri, Jasper after Alec. Everyone started divvying up their targets.

First, we would have to kill Demetri. Edward and Carlisle were firm on this, though Carlisle was still slightly against the thought of fighting. If Demetri got away, he could find any of us, except Bella, of course. Then we would have to take out their two strongest mental fighters: Jane and Alec. Bella would protect us all with her mental shield, but she wanted to make sure they were gone.

Then Desmond and I were going after Renata, Aro's physical shield. All we needed to do was separate her from Aro, which Desmond could easily convince her to do. Then I would attack, invisible—she wouldn't be able to stop me. Her gift couldn't stop me because, for all intensive purposes, I didn't exist while I was invisible.

Alice was going to kill Chelsea, the one with the gift for influencing relationships. Edward believed that once Chelsea was dead, many of the Volturi guard will realize that their allegiance did not truly lie with the Ancients. Hopefully, some would join us.

And then we would go after the Ancients themselves.

The Denali coven was arriving tomorrow, and if they still chose to fight with us, we would all leave the day after, for Italy.

It was risky, most of it was based on pure luck, and if Bella and I were attacked, no one stood a chance. But there was still that slim margin of hope, that tiny piece of my mind that realized: _we could win this_

The question was: how many would we lose in the process?

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**Things are getting closer to the big battle... dun dun dun!!**

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	10. Chapter 10 Cheater

**Disclaimer: Nope, still not Stephenie Meyer.

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The Denali coven was furious when they arrived, their tawny eyes fiery.

"They cannot just go after you like this! No, no, no!" Tanya screeched as she walked in the door. My breath caught as I saw her for the first time; she was nearly as beautiful as Rosalie. Her hair was also blonde, though it hung in perfect curls.

"I never thought they were capable of this kind of unmediated action." The man who spoke had dark hair and a slightly olive completion, holding a woman who looked similar in features.

"I told you," another male muttered. "I told all of you when they came the last time. They're excuses are flimsy and weak; they are corrupt with power and are using it unjustly."

I held out my hand. "You must be Garrett." He had long sandy hair that was tied back with a piece of leather. The Cullens had explained that Garrett was a patriot in the Revolutionary War and still clung to the ideals of his century.

"Yes, I am," he said, shaking my hand. "I'm afraid I don't know who you are."

"Everyone, this is Claire, and this is Desmond," Edward introduced us. "Claire, Desmond—this is Tanya, Garrett, Kate, Eleazar, and Carmen."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Claire," said Kate with a hint of a devilish smile, extending her hand to mine. Before I could shake it, however, Edward flashed his eyes.

"Kate, don't you dare."

I stood still, confused.

"Kate has the power to shock people. She was just about to give you enough voltage to knock you off your feet," Edward explained in a hard voice.

"Just testing," Kate said smiling. I wasn't sure if I liked her.

"Enough, everyone. We have many plans to make if we are to leave by the morning," Carlisle said.

"What's this?" Eleazar asked in surprise.

"There was a change of plans, Eleazar. We've decided to use an offensive maneuver rather than wait for the Volturi to come here."

Tanya frowned. "Is that really wise? What does Alice see?"

Alice walked out of the room without answering. Jasper sighed, but didn't follow her.

"She can't see anything. The werewolves are coming with us. She's blind when they come into her sight," Edward explained.

"And you really think this is a good idea?" Carmen asked Carlisle, who nodded sternly.

"It's better than any other of our choices." Jasper nodded in confirmation with Carlisle's statement. The Denali coven took this in stride, composing their reactions.

"Tomorrow, then, we fight."

Carlisle clued the newcomers in on the plan. They warmed slightly once they heard what my power was, knowing that our plan was that much less suicidal.

Although I was comforted by the amount of new fighters, I was still incredibly frightened. Tomorrow's mission would be dangerous no matter what. We just didn't stand a chance against so many skilled fighters. Some of us would make it, of course. Just not everyone. And that scared me.

Desmond was alerted to my tension by the way I gripped his hand, in a death grip so powerful it would have severed any human's right off the arm.

"Come on," he murmured in my ear, his breath raising the hairs on the back of my neck. I had no choice but to follow, not when he cheated like that.

No one looked up as we left; everyone was too absorbed in our battle plans.

"There's something I need to tell you, Claire," said Desmond once we were deep in the woods, out of earshot of the others.

"What is it?" I whispered, coming closer to him.

He smiled at me, touching my face. "I need you to know something."

I waited, as patiently as I could, unable to focus on much else with his fingers so delicately on my skin.

"If things don't go well, tomorrow—" he started, but I cut him off.

"They _are_ going to go well." I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince him or myself.

"Let me finish," he whispered urgently, moving his fingers so that they were over my lips, which quivered in response.

"If things don't go well, tomorrow, then I want you to know how much I love you, Claire, and that I will always love you. No matter what."

I couldn't breathe, which normally was okay because I didn't technically have to breathe. But this was different. It was as if my lungs had momentarily been replaced, only to have my air cut off. My hands trembled slightly.

"I love you, too, you know," I whispered back.

He smiled. "That's all I needed to hear."

Desmond took his fingers, delicately raising my chin up a fraction. And then he leaned down, pressing his lips to mine.

So, maybe we were about to enter the worst danger imaginable, and maybe neither one of us would make it out alive. And maybe we were both tense and scared, not knowing how the fight tomorrow would turn out.

But this, this was definitely the greatest moment of my life.

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**And the next chapter is... dun dun dun! The epic fight we've all been waiting for!**

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**Review, pretty please! I run on your feedback!  
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	11. Chapter 11 Sneak Attack

**Disclaimer: Alice saw that I was going to say I was Stephenie Meyer and stopped me. So-- no, Twilight is not mine.

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"I've never been on a plane before," I announced to no one in particular as we boarded the aircraft. No one answered, not that I was expecting them to. It was just an errant thought, nothing more. But it was strange for me to fathom that the first time I would ever get to ride a plane might be my last.

We sat with our partners: Desmond and I, Alice and Jasper, Edward and Bella, Carlisle and Esme, Rosalie and Emmett, Nessie and Jacob, Kate and Garrett, Eleazar and Carmen. Tanya sat with the other wolves. She even seemed comfortable there, although she wrinkled her nose every so often.

It made me feel horrible that Tanya had never found anyone she wanted to spend her life with. After realizing how much I loved Desmond, I couldn't remember life without him.

We all knew that we would most likely die. Sam, Quil, Jared, Paul, and a few of the other werewolves had 'imprinted', that same strange thing that occurred between Jacob and Nessie. They seemed to be physically in pain to leave their females behind, knowing that they might never see them ever again.

Now was the time where I started to feel second thoughts. This was an idiotic and failed plan. There was no way we could ever do this, ever pull this off—

Edward kicked my seat from behind me. "Don't think like that, Claire," he hissed to me. Quil picked his head up attentively, but averted his gaze; I remembered that his—what was the word? Imprintee?—was also named Claire. The look on his face was heartbreaking. It made me want to go adopt a puppy.

Edward snorted, reading my thoughts. "Well, there are plenty of dogs here for you to choose from." Bella nudged him with her elbow.

"Shut it, you," she warned.

I closed my eyes, trying to shut everything out.

"It's going to be fine," Desmond soothed me in a quiet voice. He placed his hand on my head, kissing my forehead discreetly. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

I wish I could honestly believe that. I wish I could believe that we had a chance.

We outnumbered the Volturi, that much was true. But they were skilled fighters—they had a guard! And I didn't want to think about the horrifying powers they had. Jane and Alec, the devil's spawn, could torture you or make you a human zombie. Bella gave us protection over their power, but how could she hold it through the fight? It was nearly impossible, and she knew that. I couldn't make her invisible either; she didn't think of it as a problem, but I know I did.

Because what if Bella died? What if I died?

The others would be dead within seconds.

We landed in New York and then took a connection to Italy. It was infuriating to act like we were asleep when night fell, but it was all part of the disguise.

When we landed, I felt the fear sink into my bones. We had arrived. How many hours would we have left? Who would I never see again?

I shook my head. "Don't be melodramatic, Claire," I muttered to myself. I tried to think positive. I really did. It just wasn't easy, considering the situation.

The werewolves went out to secure cars for us, seeing as they could step out into the sun without causing a sixteen car pileup. When they returned, we all loaded into our respective vehicles. And then we were off.

Could it really be almost time to fight? Where was the time going? It felt like someone had just pressed the fast forward button on my life. I could barely keep up.

As we entered the city gates, Edward let out a little hiss.

"I never wanted to come back here," he whispered. Bella put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly as he drove.

Bella told me the story of Edward's near disaster in Volterra; how he had planned to kill himself and she, still human, had interceded to stop him. Their story was like no other, with so many ups and downs and twists and turns. It seemed like such a shame for them to have to go through this now.

The vampires parked in the shadows; the werewolves parked in the sun. Dark and light. Ying and yang.

The Cullens, Denalis, Desmond, and I jumped the high wall that bound the city as the wolves strolled in through the front gates. We met up in an alleyway, the forty or so of us taking up much too much room.

"They don't know we're here," Edward muttered to everyone. "They pulled back the guard in order to prepare themselves for their departure. Everyone is inside."

The news made us stronger, more courageous; or maybe that was just Jasper. Either way, I was grateful.

"We still have the upper hand," I said determinedly.

Edward nodded. "They have no idea that we are here. This could actually work."

I would have been hurt by the amazement in his voice, but I had been second guessing my plan all day. I was just as shocked that it was going this smoothly.

Bella pulled aside a grate that was hidden in the floor. "This is weird," she muttered. "The last time I did this, I was still human."

"This is the entrance?" I asked, confused.

"It can't be discernible to humans," Edward explained before jumping down the hole. Bella went behind him. One by one, the vampires followed their example.

"This is creepy," Desmond muttered, and I had to agree with him. The walls were dark and damp, dripping sound echoing throughout the underground tunnel.

A ripping sound interrupted my observations, and I jumped.

The Volturi.

They had found us.

Before I could scream, a white hand was clamped over my mouth.

"It's the wolves!" Edward hissed. "They have to transform. You need to stop scaring yourself, Claire."

I nodded weakly, ashamed at my utter stupidity. I needed to focus now.

Desmond and I gasped in unison when several massive, shaggy creatures joined us in the tunnel. They could barely fit. The others had already seen the wolves in their form before, and they were calm.

"Let's go," said Bella determinedly, leading the way. Her white form stalked off to the other length of the tunnel, gradually increasing to full speed as we followed. I was amazed at the werewolves' ability to keep up. At the end of the tunnel was a door.

"All right, let me through," Emmett growled. No one bothered to stop him as he single-handedly pulled the gate out of the wall with an earsplitting wrench, exposing what looked like a human office. The sound echoed for several seconds in the deathly quiet. Whatever stealth we had was about to be gone.

"Well, at least they know we're here now," Alice said cheerfully. "They're sending a guard to check what that sound was."

We waited, tense; sure enough, footsteps were heard less than three minutes later. I signaled to Bella, and she nodded. I instantly made everyone invisible, except for her; she hid in the shadows.

The guard was burly, almost to Emmett's size. He swiveled his head once, checking the passageway. His eyes fell on Bella, detecting her in the shadow. He was about to cry out, but Edward got to him first, twisting his head right off his neck. The sound was equal to Emmett wrenching the gate out of the wall.

He threw the two body parts back down the hallway. "We'll finish that later."

I turned to Alice, who had her eyes closed. She answered my unspoken question.

"They're suspicious that Gabriel didn't come back. They're sending Jane."

A hiss broke through Bella's lips, and I remembered that she had a personal vendetta against her.

"I'll go out and see when she comes in," I promised, sneaking out of the dull passageway. Inside, there was one frail human manning a desk in what looked like a normal office building. I snapped her neck without a second thought—my first murder. Served her right, working for such vile monsters.

Jane came in then, sniffing the air suspiciously. Her gaze fell on the dead human behind the desk, and her eyes narrowed, searching for the culprit. I was right in front of her, but she couldn't hear, see, or smell me; however, she could easily spot the one I could not protect.

"Bella," she growled.

For an answer, Bella strode through the doorway.

"Surprise," she said with an impish smile, before punching Jane in the face.

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**I don't know about you, but that last line is my favorite :) Jane finally got what she deserved.**

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	12. Chapter 12 Failed

**Yes, Bella punched Jane in the face. I know some of you were questioning this, but Bella, even though she's been a vampire for eight years, still tends to stick to her human reactions.**

**Now, as a human, would you bite someone's neck before punching them in the face? I sure hope not. People tend to lock you up in nice padded cells if you even try.  
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**This may not be how you or SMeyer envisions Bella, but that's still how she is to me.**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is made of awesome for writing this stuff; Claire and Desmond are mine, but all other characters and such belong to her.  
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Bella and Jane were involved in some kind of dance—a sick, twisted, murderous dance. Small pieces of pale body parts were mercilessly thrown through the chorus of snarls and growls. Jane had no idea that the rest of us were here, but we couldn't do much to aid Bella. The fight was so close, so tense—one wrong move could end it for my friend. Edward looked like he was physically in pain, watching the fight that he could do nothing to stop.

Then it became too much for him, and he reached out a pale hand.

"No, she's mine!" Bella snarled at him.

Jane's eyes swiveled around the room. I'm sure what she meant to say next was, "There are others?" Something along that line, anyway. However, she only got out, "There are oth--?" before Bella lunged for her throat. Jane's head snapped straight from her neck, rolling across the floor.

Two opponents down.

Edward pulled his wife into his arms tightly, in such a crushing embrace that I was relieved that it wasn't necessary for Bella to breathe.

"Yes, yes, she's fine. Listen, we should make our way to the dungeon now." Alice's voice was saturated with relief for her sister of sorts, but her visions kept her on schedule. "They're going to send more than one next, and this room won't be big enough to hold all of us. As I gazed back at the twenty or so massive werewolves that were invisible to anyone else who walked through the room, I could see that she was right.

There was a problem though, now that I was focusing on my invisibility. I was starting to pant with exertion; if I kept this up, it would make me more exhausted then was really necessary. I pulled back my field with a snap, gasping with relief.

"Claire--," Desmond started, but I put a finger to his lips.

"I'm fine," I assured him, not really sure if this was a lie.

"This way!" Alice called impatiently from the front of our group. She beckoned with her hand impatiently. "We only have two minutes and thirty seven seconds before they come to investigate again!"

Carlisle took her place as the head of the group, and we soldiered on after him. Edward nudged me with his elbow, and I sighed before making everyone invisible again.

"Sorry," he whispered. "But they would have heard us if we got any closer." I nodded, my jaw tight. I didn't trust myself to speak and keep up the invisibility at the same time.

We came to a door at the end of the long stone hallway. Bella walked up to the front of the line. Slowly and deliberately, she knocked three times.

"Jane?" a voice called from the dungeon we were entering. "Is that you?"

Bella didn't answer.

We heard footsteps, and then the door opened.

"Why, Bella! You didn't tell us you were coming to visit!" The vampire who spoke was different than all others I had encountered before. His red eyes were covered in a filmy sheen not unlike they were covered in dusty plastic wrap. His skin was more translucent and frail looking. He had a pleasant demeanor that I could see through instantly. An anxious looking vampire was clinging to his arm, determined to keep physical contact on him.

"Aro and Renata," Edward whispered. Nessie hissed.

"Yes, Aro," Bella said, her voice ringing out clearly and calmly. "I was in the neighborhood."

"May I ask what this is about?" Aro asked kindly, though I could see his left hand twitching slightly in impatience. Another man behind him snarled quietly, yet another standing next to him looking merely bored. They both had the same frail, filmy features as Aro.

"Caius and Marcus," Edward identified for us. It was only when I looked back at him that I discovered that several of our group were missing. I scanned the entire room frantically—and found them. Jasper was standing behind who could only be Alec with features not unlike his twin, his hands poised and ready. Emmett was behind another burly guardsman, also in the same position. One by one, the Denalis and the werewolves went to go stand behind their target.

Desmond gripped my hand one last time before standing behind Aro while I stood next to him behind Renata.

"Pull your field off me, Claire," Desmond whispered. I understood. Aro needed to make eye contact with his subject so that Desmond could hypnotize him. It was harder to pull one piece of my invisibility back than keep it there; it was like stopping mid-push during a push up. The strain was nearly unbearable, and I curled into a ball on the floor, crying out in pain, leaving Desmond visible.

I heard the cries of fear of the others in the Volturi as they saw Desmond materialize out of seemingly nowhere; I heard them but could not see because my eyes were still squeezed shut tight in concentration.

"I believe you have a visitor, Aro," Bella said coolly, gesturing over his right shoulder. I heard the light wind as Aro spun around as I gradually gained control over myself.

"What's this? Who are you? How did you get here?!" Aro's voice grew frantic. And he was still alive.

What was going on?

I peeked out of one eyelid to see Desmond staring at me in horror, half crouched as if to help me out of my pain. That's when I heard the gasps of all those around me. That's when I realized that Desmond could see me, even though he was no longer under my field of invisibility. That's when I realized why I was gradually regaining control over myself.

That's when I realized that my invisibility field had failed.

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**Uh oh.**

**What do you think is going to happen? What do you want to happen? What do you think of the story so far?**

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	13. Chapter 13 Fight or Flight

**Disclaimer: All these characters, except Claire and Desmond, belong to the uber awesome Stephenie Meyer. I don't own Twilight.**

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I had no sooner made the realization that I had left all my friends unprotected when it was driven out of my mind by something fiercer, stronger.

The pain.

It was everywhere, it was torturing me. It left no visible mark, it left no sign or scar, but it was far worse than anything I had ever felt, including my transformation.

This was worse than torture. This was agony to the highest degree.

I couldn't think or see; I didn't know if I was screaming out or keeping silent; I couldn't tell which way was up or right or left; all I knew was that I was drowning in my own mind, memories and foreign thoughts physically burning my insides.

Flashes appeared before me:

The day my parents died in a car crash. The day I was brought to the orphanage. The day my first foster parents gave me up. The last real friend I had ever had. The screams of the girls, the last humans I had ever had contact with when I was a human, as Desmond drank their blood. My transformation. Thirst.

And then I couldn't discern the real from the fake; Desmond screaming out in pain, abruptly stopping when a Volturi guardsman ripped off his head; Bella's and Edward's shrieks as they watched their daughter being burned; the wolves' howls of agony as the Volturi stabbed them.

As abruptly as the pain started, it stopped.

I lay, gasping on the floor, still screaming despite the sweet relief. And then my memory caught up with me, and I took stock of my surroundings.

Desmond was desperately attacking Caius and Aro at the same time; the Denalis were surrounding Felix and Marcus; the werewolves were still alive, though many of them were in combat with Volturi guardsmen; Edward was protecting Bella in a corner from two guards as she furiously crushed her eyes shut, concentrating on her field; Jasper was attacking Alec, their two bodies making horrific ripping sounds that could be related to nails on a chalk board; Nessie was clamped on the back of a blonde vampire who was attacking the Jacob-wolf, pulling on his hair and screaming bloody murder; Jane was eyeing me furiously, a glare that brought the phrase _if looks could kill_ to my mind--

Wait, what? Jane?

"Surprised, young one?" she hissed, inching closer to me. "Yes, I'm back together now. It's a shame… you really should have burned the pieces. Don't you know enough about our kind to know that we can put ourselves back together again?" I shuddered violently. No, I didn't know that. Jane grinned venomously at my fear. "I hope you did enjoy the show I put on for you. I threw in a few of my own images before Bella could stop me… just adding a bit of flavor."

My mouth went dry. She was a monster… she didn't just torture people. She _enjoyed_ it.

"But what _Mrs._ Cullen doesn't realize," Jane went on, sneering the title as if it were a big joke, "Is that I could easily kill you with my bare hands."

She was right. She could kill me—and it would be downright easy for her. I couldn't even put up a fight. I was emotionally and physically drained from her mind torture and trying to put up an invisibility field. There was nothing left for me, my last iota of strength gone. It would be only too easy.

With a snarl that vibrated through the stone floor, Jane took a swipe at me. I felt the blow; I heard the crunch; and then I no longer had the use of my left arm. I shrieked, my eyes popping wide as the unbelievable force of the agony ripped through my body in violent waves. She had stripped my arm right off my body and threw it across the floor, using it as some kind of weapon to strike Desmond in the back of the head. He staggered, and it only took a moment's hesitation to have Caius take a swipe at him.

I heard the screech that came out of my mouth, but I couldn't understand what I was saying. I was in pain; I no longer had an arm, and soon I would no longer have a mate or even a life.

Even in my last moments, even through the agony and exhaustion, my senses were still top notch, though my reactions were sadly flawed. And I smelled the gasoline, the smoke, before I saw the flames. I couldn't possibly fathom what they were for or how they got there. Then my mind churned, slowly grinding back to life, and I remembered what Jane told me only moments before.

_It's a shame… you really should have burned the pieces._

My head swam as I processed this. These flames were where the Volturi planned to burn our lifeless bodies.

I was screaming again, though this time in fear and not agony. Jane lunged at me, but I rolled to my right side. I stood up quickly, amazed that the pain in my empty arm socket didn't diminish or fade; it stayed perfectly preserved, as unbearably painful and burning as it had been several moments ago.

My eyes located Bella and Edward in the corner, and I ran to them without really knowing why. Maybe it was because Bella had stopped the pain with her mental shield- maybe I stupidly thought I could help my friends. Whatever the reason, I ran to them, only stopping to furiously claw and bite one of the guards attacking them to shreds. Edward helped me, and the guard was soon as distinguishable as a pile of rubble.

"Thanks for that," Edward gasped.

"Fire," I said, the only way I could articulate the upcoming doom. I gestured wildly with the only arm I had left, trying to point out the flames. It wasn't necessary. They were everywhere.

"I know," he responded through clenched teeth.

The way he said it- as recognition, with no hope- crushed the very last of my spirit. There was nothing left for us here. We were going to die.

The force of this realization and its accompanying emotions- fury, desperation, sheer terror- suddenly provoked one of the biological responses I hadn't used since my human days: fight or flight.

I wasn't going anywhere. I was going to fight.

And with this newfound determination came strength and knowledge. I realized that I knew _exactly_ how to work my field, and that I had the strength to use it. I had been doing it all wrong before; I was trying to force my mind into doing something that it just didn't have the resources to do. Now it seemed that watching my friends die around me made my body realize that it wasn't something I _wanted_ to do- it was a necessity.

One by one, my friends began to disappear from the Volturi's vision. I heard Jane's shriek of fury and frustration and the rest of the roars of our enemy, and it only made me more determined.

My lips curled into a vicious smile, exposing my teeth. This fight wasn't over yet.

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**So, I wasn't sure how Jane's power worked exactly, but Edward mentioned in New Moon that she tortured you with her thoughts alone. I went with that, taking a bit of creative license. I hope you don't mind.**

**The green review button waits all day for your clicks... don't leave it hanging. :)  
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	14. Chapter 14 Deaths and New Allegiances

**Disclaimer: These are all Stephenie Meyer's little creations, though Desmond and Claire are mine.**

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I was unstoppable.

My invisibility field was strong and covered only my loved ones. There were less people to cover than before- who had we lost? But the pain of that propelled me even further. Even the unadulterated agony that was screaming from the empty socket of my left shoulder did nothing to stop me. I was in a rage, and I was going to kill.

And Jane would be my victim.

She couldn't see us, but she knew we were there; she was sending off bursts of pain randomly, though Bella's shield protected us from that. She let off a shriek of frustration.

"Where are you?!"

I snarled, though she couldn't hear, and pounced.

It was much easier for her to attack me once she knew where I was. Her hands lashed out like claws and her venomous teeth were bared. She pounced at random patches of air, hoping to catch me. I laughed at her efforts, lifting my shield every once in a while to let her have a glimpse of me.

"Over here!" I called, giving her a brief look. I then spun invisibly to the next corner of the room while Jane rammed her head into the stone wall. "Not there, here silly!" I cried. Jane didn't move this time, even when I went back to being invisible. The hairs on the back of my neck raised ominously. And then-

"CLAIRE!" someone shouted, but it was too late. Jane had found her mark, and she was sinking her teeth into my neck. I shrieked in agony, one long broken note. My vision was spinning and I couldn't remember where I was. I tried to keep up my shield for the others, but it was impossible and soon other shrieks met mine.

We were going to die. After all of this, _we were going to die._

Desmond.

His face popped into my mind, and, for the first time in my new life, I cried. No tears came, but sobs wrenched from my throat, mixing with the screams that were still coming. Why hadn't she killed me yet? Why couldn't she end this for me? Why leave me in pain? Just let it all stop, I pleaded in my mind, too far gone to articulate a sentence. Just let it all end.

It didn't end.

My mind started to clear, and even though there was a painful stinging in my neck, I wasn't dead. My lack-of arm still caused me agony that seemed to claw at my shoulder blade, but I was starting to accept that. The pain didn't diminish, but I was able to push it in the back of my mind for now. I had more important matters to face.

Jane was staring at me, her crimson eyes widened in shock. I realized that no one was moving… everyone, including the Volturi and their guard, were standing as frozen as statues. If a human saw this scene, they would think some master craftsman created several beautiful marble statues poised in fighting positions.

Was something wrong? I looked down, giving myself a once-over. Besides the whole only-one-arm thing, there was nothing seriously wrong about me. Something dropped in my stomach and I glanced at the others in my company, panicking- but no, they seemed to be fine, too. But- and the real anxiety started- there were only fifteen wolves… and where were Esme, Carmen, and Eleazar? And… where was Desmond? My hands trembled in fear, the cold taking root in my body. No. I couldn't even think of that.

But my eyes found the reason for the stillness- Jasper was standing by the fire, holding the head of one of the Volturi guardsmen. I recognized her as Chelsea, the one who could manipulate relationships. I searched back in my mind to what Edward had said about her… that if we could kill her, some of the guards would break their allegiances with the Volturi and possibly side with us. I felt like I was flying- could we really gain more fighters? Could we diminish the Volturi's numbers even more?

Jasper threw Chelsea's head in the fire, and all at once everyone seemed to wake up.

Jane straightened up and retracted her hands, which were aimed toward me as vicious claws. Three of the six remaining guards did the same, as did Marcus- one of the Volturi family. Alec- Jane's twin- did not move, but hissed loudly. Jane's eyes widened as she realized that her brother did not intend to change sides.

The five who switched their allegiances walked over to our side of the room, where we were spaced out by the door, while the Volturi stayed by the three thrones on the other side of the room. I realized with a light heart that one of the guard's who joined us was Renata- Aro's physical shield.

"So," said a cold voice, and I glanced up at the furious, crimson eyes of Caius. "So."

"You cannot bend us against our will anymore, Caius," a guard said, one whose name I did not know.

"Is that so, Michael?"

The one named Michael gave a hard nod. "I will no longer be your subservient pawn, Caius. I will not be taken advantage of for my power."

Caius snarled, but Aro put a restraining hand over his heart. "And you, brother?" Aro asked Marcus sadly.

I glanced over at Marcus and realized, with a start, that he was… _awake_. That's the only way I could describe it. Even when fighting off legions of vampires, even when he realized that he might die- Marcus looked bored. Always. Now his features were animated and full of life.

"I have not belonged here since Didyme died," Marcus hissed quietly, though I could hear that his voice was saturated with hatred.

Marcus turned to the rest of us. "Didyme was my mate. She was the most amazing wife anyone could ask for. She was also Aro's sister. We were going to go our own way from the Volturi when Didyme was killed. I never found out who the perpetrator was, and I would have scoured the ends of the earth to find him or her- but Aro kept me here with Chelsea's gift. Now, I may go on in my quest."

"You don't have far to go," Edward murmured to him. Aro straightened up, hissing quietly.

"Edward, I don't think-," Aro started in his polite way but his voice seemed strangled, but Edward wasn't listening.

"Aro killed her, Marcus. He's trying not to think about it, but I know."

It was dead silent for a fraction of a second while Marcus took in this information. Then he spun around to Aro.

"You killed your own sister?" he hissed loudly, his eyes seeming to brighten under the filmy cover.

Aro shrugged, unashamed. "It was what I needed to do, Brother, to keep you here. I couldn't just let you go."

Marcus snarled, viciously clawing at empty air, but Carlisle, Edward, and Emmett held him back. Aro gazed down at him sadly, and then turned his eyes to Jane.

"Dearest, what on earth are you doing?"

"I…" Jane seemed to be at a loss for words. "I can't do this, Aro."

Aro seemed aghast. "What do you mean, dear one?"

"When Chelsea died, something in me broke, Aro. I no longer feel allegiance here."

Aro's eyebrows furrowed. "But your twin seems perfectly comfortable staying with us. Tell me, dearest Jane, would you be willing to fight against your own brother?"

Jane's mouth opened, but no sound came out. She looked pleadingly upon Alec, who showed no signs that she even existed. Even though she had just tried to kill me- multiple times- and had almost succeeded… I felt sorry for her. Jasper swiveled his head to look at me incredulously, and I shrugged. I couldn't help it.

"If that is the way you choose," Aro said, shrugging. "I will feel sorry when I kill you, but I shall do it all the same."

"Master-," Jane started, but I nudged her with my elbow.

"He's not your Master anymore," I reminded her quietly.

Jane's eyes widened at that remark and she seemed almost… _happy._

"No," she murmured. "No, he's not. You no longer control me, Aro! I am free!"

Aro turned away from her without a second glance.

"Renata, what are you doing there? Come back here, don't be ridiculous."

Renata looked scared, but she did not waver. "I'm sorry, Aro," she said in a shaky voice. "I believe that my allegiance lies with these strange covens and… packs." Her nose wrinkled on the last word, but she didn't seem to hold any animosity toward the wolves.

It was only when Renata wavered that Aro seemed to grow truly worried. Had he ever fought a fair fight? No, I thought, answering my own question. He had grown so used to the protection this woman's gift brought him that he couldn't imagine fighting without her.

We outnumbered them, despite our losses. A pang entered my heart as I thought of that. Even if we won… we had still lost.

Edward glanced at me discreetly, and winked. I stared at him incredulously, but half his face transformed into a crooked smile.

Edward wouldn't be happy if part of his family had been destroyed… did that mean… did that mean they were still alive?

From the corner of the room, Edward gave a slight nod.

I could hear Aro grilling the last guard, but I tuned him out.

_Where are they?_

Edward's eyes flicked to the window two stories up from the dungeon then back at me. They were outside. But… why? Then a horrifying thought came to me.

_Are they injured?_

Edward became still, too still.

_Edward! Are they injured?!_

His mouth pressed into a hard line.

_Edward is… is Desmond hurt?_

Slowly, ever so slowly, he gave a short nod.

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**I know, I know. Cliffhangers suck. This was originally a humongous chapter, but I had to split it into two. So to make it up to you, I will be posting the next part of the super long chapter VERY VERY SOON. Like lightening speed!  
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**Also: that whole speech Marcus had on Didyme was taken from Stephenie Meyer's website, under FAQs for Breaking Dawn.**

**Reviews, please! Reviews, reviews, reviews.... :)  
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	15. Chapter 15 Snap

**No, I'm still not Stephenie Meyer. I only own Claire and Desmond.**

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No.

No, no, no. No.

Desmond was hurt. For a moment I stood stock still, trying to wrap my mind around this incomprehensible fact.

Then I snapped.

I'd never gone crazy before, though I knew the general mechanics of it. Loss of rational reason, overcome by your senses, yadda yadda yadda. Yet learning about mental instability and experiencing it were two completely different things.

I started to scream a high pitched screech that startled even the three holding down Marcus, who was still struggling. With that one moment of hesitation, he broke free. Instead of trying to stop him from doing something stupid that could kill him, I joined him.

I clawed at the first vampire my hands found purchase to, ignoring the ripping sounds as I severed his or her head. My scream broke off into a deafening snarl, the decibels growing until they shook the foundation of the dungeon, dust sifting through the cracks of the bricks. Aro, who had been looking at me with polite amusement hitherto, grew annoyed.

"Really, now-," he started to say before Marcus pounced

The two ancients were rolling on the ground, Marcus seeming to have the upper hand as he furiously grabbed at Aro's neck. Before I could focus, however, I was attacked.

Caius swiped at the already agonizing wound in my shoulder blade, and my shriek grew more pronounced. I spun around, bearing my teeth; I was past all reason. These depraved and wicked creatures had harmed Desmond- and now they were going to pay.

I was a hunter, and they would be my prey.

Caius's eyes grew wide as he caught sight of my snarling, wild figure- my eyes rolling haphazardly, my teeth bared, my fingers pressed into sharp talons, venom running down one side of my lip- and I took his moment of hesitation to take action.

I lunged at his throat, my teeth scraping off chunks of his granite skin. I heard his screams and I thrilled in them; I was causing pain to the ones who ruined my life. I understood Jane's enthrallment when she tortured me- when you really, truly hated someone, their pain is your pleasure.

"No, he's mine!" I snarled as Jasper stepped in to take control. Even I could hear the wicked hysteria in my voice- not that it mattered. All that mattered was giving these monsters what was coming to them.

So I ripped Caius's head off and threw it into the fire with my teeth.

It was only when Jasper wrapped his arms around my body in an iron hold that I realized he wasn't worried for my sake- he thought I was a danger to others.

"You need to get a hold of yourself, Claire!" he yelled over my senseless screeching and kicking, flailing my arms and legs every which way. I was itching to get back into the fight, determined to hurt, to kill-

But my thrashing did nothing against the vise of Jasper's arm, and I eventually relented, taking stock of my surroundings.

Caius was dead. Marcus had joined us, and was still locked in confrontation with Aro. Tanya was helping him fight the latter off, while Kate and Garrett stood poised at the ready, willing to attack at a moment's notice for their sister's sake. Edward was still protecting Bella in a corner, where she furiously kept up her mental shield, her eyes shut tight in concentration. The wolves were helping the rest of the vampires throw the remains of our enemies into the blaze that was now burning, using the thrones as firewood. Esme, Carmen, Eleazar, and two more wolves- and Desmond, I thought with a pang- were still outside somewhere, nursing their injuries.

It was only when I heard an unfamiliar cry of pain that I realized that there was still one more battle being waged, between Jane and her brother, Alec.

The cry was unfamiliar because I've never heard Jane cry in pain. I don't think anyone else had either, because even Bella froze, snapping out of her concentration. She quickly recovered herself, but that told me all I needed to know.

Jane was not the type to cry out in pain… which meant she was in very deep. And, despite her homicidal tendencies, she was on our side. And I was determined to protect her.

"Let me go," I said calmly to Jasper, though my foot was twitching in impatience; he looked down on my face with a hard expression, and I explained, "I can't just let her do this alone."

He hesitated, but eventually nodded and freed me. And I was off.

"Alec, please!" Jane was begging her brother, sidestepping his ferocious attacks. "It doesn't have to be this way."

Alec sneered. "You are a traitor, Jane. Traitors must be executed."

"I am not a traitor, Alec, I am your sister! Even you must see that the Volturi are the real enemy here."

Alec gave a short, cold laugh. "You dare speak about your family this way?"

"Look around, Alec! There is no family anymore! Even Aro is about to die!"

Alec growled, taking a swipe. He caught Jane off guard, and snapped off her forearm, from her elbow down. I heard Jane's scream of pain, and in that instant I made a decision.

I pounced at Alec from behind, my capable hands twisting around his stone neck. He threw me off almost instantly, sending me to the stone floor with so much force that it cracked. Dust and dirt blew in a cloud around me, though I could still see my attacker coming for me. He lunged, aiming to kill.

I heard the sound before I felt the impact- except, a few seconds later, there still was no impact. I cracked my eyelids open, wondering why I wasn't dead yet. It was then that I saw Jane snapping her twin's head off his neck, her tearless sobs wracking through her chest. She threw the remains into the fire with as much force as she could muster, still crying senselessly. I saw Marcus looking at the fire with an intent expression across his face as he watched the flames smolder, and I assumed he had just done the same with Aro's body.

Jane had just saved my life. I did the only thing that seemed sensible at the time. I walked up to her, arms outstretched.

Jane's eyes narrowed, halfway into her pounce before she blinked in surprise.

"Sorry," she whispered, her voice thick as she straightened up. "Old habits die hard." I chuckled softly, and she accepted my embrace, albeit a little awkwardly. I doubted she had ever shown affection for anyone in her entire life, or that anyone had ever hugged her. It made me pity her.

"I know he was bad," she whispered into my shoulder. "But he was my brother."

"I know," I cooed, patting her head softly. "I know."

"Claire?" Emmett called to me. Jane and I looked up, and I gloated with joy.

"You found my arm!" I cried, thankful for my good fortune.

He laughed, brandishing it over his head like a flag of white surrender. Of course, since he was Emmett, he also flung it at my face shouting, "Think fast!"

I caught it swiftly, though I was unsure what to do with it. Jane smiled sympathetically. "Here," she said softly, and I had to admit without the snarling and sneering, she was a decent person. "Let me."

She held my arm up to my socket, and I felt the cells reattach themselves. "Ouch," I murmured, rubbing it. "It stings."

She shrugged. "It gets better," she said as she reattached her own forearm.

I thanked her, though there was something more important on my mind.

"Carlisle, where are they?" He didn't have to ask me to know who I was talking about. He gestured to the windows up two stories on the dungeon walls. I excused myself from Jane, taking a giant leap into the dimming evening light above.

Desmond was sitting in the shade against a wall several hundred yards away. I screamed his name and he looked up from rubbing his right leg- I assumed he had just reattached it since the similar feeling of needles attacking my shoulder was in my arm- and I fled in his direction. He stood up in time to catch me in his arms, crushing me to his chest.

"You're all right, you're all right!" he yelled jubilantly, kissing me all over.

It was all a blur after that. Desmond explained to me after many caresses and kisses that he, Eleazar, and Esme had gotten hurt; Carmen had carried them through the window out on the street corner and then stayed to make sure they were all healing correctly. The two wolves had gone out the long way after an order by Sam to protect the vampires at all costs.

We had done it. After all our efforts, our pain and suffering, we had done it- we had won. We had overtaken the Volturi, and we were in more or less great shape. We were all alive, and those of us who were injured were healing.

"We did it," I whispered incredulously to Desmond. "We really did it."

He just laughed, crushing his lips to mine.

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**There is only ONE MORE CHAPTER. **

**You heard me. ONE.  
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**Can you believe it? I certainly can't. It's an epilogue, and it basically sums up what happens in the next couple of months while the vamps and the wolves attend a very special event. **

**I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it! You guys are officially made of 100% pure awesome :)**

**Check back for the epilogue! I've already written it, so it'll be up either later tonight or tomorrow.  
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	16. Epilogue: A Wedding

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this chapter except Claire and Desmond.**

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EPILOGUE

"I still say this is weird," I muttered to Desmond as we listened to Carlisle, who received his minister license online, talk about the sacred bonds of matrimony. It was months after the war with the Volturi, which had been extinguished forever. The vampire world was now under the jurisdiction of the Cullens, the Denalis, the Irish Coven, and the wolves, each individual having a different role in the regulation of the new government. Garrett especially had gotten very into the whole "reorganizing the monarchy into a government" thing. Kate had gotten a bit annoyed when he spent weeks on end researching government systems, but of course she was happy now. It wasn't every day that your sister got married.

And Tanya did look far more than beautiful, that was true. Her blonde curls were pinned up on top of her head, and her white dress had a long, luscious train that lead into the aisle. Alice had designed the dress, and of course she had gone overboard.

"It's not weird," Desmond reprimanded me. "Now hush."

We were sitting in the second row, behind the Cullens and next to several of the werewolves who were able to make it. Jane sat on my other side, her bright smile irradiating her face. Her eyes, which were now golden, watched the service intently. She was in charge of punishing offenders now; her talent came to use fairly well, though she never used it unless the situation absolutely demanded it. For a bad girl gone good, she was doing pretty well.

"How can you say it's not weird? He's like fifty years older than her!" I breathed under my breath.

Desmond looked like he was about to break into fits of laughter, and I fumed. "What?" I demanded.

"Claire, you realize that I'm technically fifty years older than you? That Carlisle is over a hundred years older than Esme, and Edward is nearly that over Bella? Just because Marcus is physically older than Tanya doesn't mean anything."

"When you put it that way, it doesn't sound that bad," I admitted in a grumble.

He chuckled quietly. "Of course it doesn't, because it's not."

At that moment I shut up, watching as Marcus's face alighted as he said the words, "I do." He stared at his new wife as if she were an angel descended from heaven.

Love had no boundaries, I realized. It was irrational and stronger than anything in the entire world.

"You may now kiss the bride," Carlisle announced amid the cheers of the audience, which were all mythical creatures, vampires and werewolves alike.

We moved from the living room of the Cullen's house to the backyard, which was lavishly decorated with flowers and strands of garland. A dance floor had been set up, and soft music was playing from a stereo in the corner.

After the newlyweds had their first dance, the rest of us joined them on the dance floor. Jane danced with young Seth Clearwater, a werewolf with a good heart and no judgments. Neither seemed to mind that their partner smelled revolting.

Desmond and I were twirling and whirling in time to the music, the soft breeze ruffling my hair. I pressed my face into his chest and he kissed the top of my head.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you too," he breathed into my ear.

I straightened up to peck him on the lips. He grinned at me.

"Actually, there's something I want to ask you."

"What is it?"

He shot a glance at Tanya and Marcus, who nodded, a sly smile growing on Tanya's face. All at once the dancing smoothed to a stop, though the music kept on going. Alice was practically glowing in Jasper's arms, clapping her hands together and jumping up and down silently. None of it made sense until Desmond got down on one knee. I gasped, and I heard soft chuckles behind me.

"Claire? I love you with all my heart and soul. I promise to stay with you every day of eternity. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," I whispered, my voice breaking. "Yes," I repeated, stronger. He slipped the ring on the third finger on my left hand, and I doubted that I'd ever felt more happy.

"I knew it! I knew she'd say yes!" Alice cried.

Desmond straightened up to kiss me, and I would have happily stayed in his arms forever, blissfully at peace for eternity.

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**Wow, I can't believe it's over! I hope you guys liked how I ended it; I tried to wrap up all the loose ends.**

**Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the people who reviewed and read this story! You guys are so nice and awesome and kept me going :) **

**Virtual hugs for all!!  
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